For certain applications, it is useful to separately store two or more components and then mix the components on demand. For example, two or more reactants can be separately stored and then mixed to cause a chemical reaction. In this way, the reaction can be performed on demand to produce, for example, warming, cooling, or formation of a particular reaction product. Forming a reaction product in this manner is especially useful if the reaction product is unstable and difficult to transport.
Chlorine dioxide gas is one example of a useful chemical that is difficult to store and transport and, therefore, typically is formed at its point-of-use. When stored at moderately high concentrations (e.g., greater than about 15% by volume), chlorine dioxide can explosively react to form chlorine and oxygen. Chlorine dioxide often is used for large-scale bleaching and disinfection. For example, chlorine dioxide has been used to decontaminate houses and buildings containing harmful mold or bacteria.
Some examples of containers having multiple chambers for separately storing components to be mixed are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,043 (Sharon) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,393 (Cho) disclose such containers. The containers disclosed in Sharon and Cho, however, have limited utility and would be ineffective if used for point-of-use generation of gases, such as chlorine dioxide.